AMOROMA

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

For the final posting of the 2014 Horses in Rome Advent Calendar I have selected a travertine relief outside an office building in EUR sculpted by Publio Morbiducci in 1939. It depicts the History of the Building of Rome and shows that horses have been part of Rome for over 2,000 years!

At the top of the relief on the left the story begins with Romulus and Remus.

Monday, December 22, 2014

For the third time this Advent we have the twin horse trainers, Castor and Pollux. They stand around the base of the Palazzo della Civilità del Lavoro, or the Colosseo Quadrate - Square Colosseum in the 20th-century Roman neighbourhood of EUR. These equestrian sculptural groups are by Publio Marbiducci and Alberto de Felci.

The building was designed for the Exposition Universale Romana, the 1942 World's Fair that never happened because of World War Two. The architects were Giovanni Guerrini, Ernesto Bruno La Padula and Mario Romano, and it was built between 1938 and 1943. The palazzo is currently undergoing renovation to become a headquarters for Fendi, the Italian design company.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Today we are back at the Ostiense Railway Station built in 1940. On the right side of the facade is a Travertine relief by Francesco Nagni that represents the mythical figures of Bellerophon and Pegasus.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

The church of Santa Trinità dei Monte (at the top of the Spanish Steps) has a cloister with some interesting art work. The lunettes depict the life of St. Francis of Paola. Charity was considered his main virtue and this fresco illustrates some of the charitable acts during his life. It was painted by Girolamo Massei in the middle of the 16th-century.

Friday, December 19, 2014

An equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II stands at the center of the large white monument in Piazza Venezia, the heart of Rome. The colossal statue of the "Father of the Nation" is the work of sculptor Enrico Chiaradia. It weighs fifty tons and is 12 meters long. Before the statue was completed in 1910 lunch was served inside the belly of the horse to a small group people who worked on the sculpture. Old photos show that there were more than twenty people inside for the meal.